As the top-of-the-line model in Canon's current generation of photo inkjet multifunction printers (MFPs), the Canon Pixma MG7520 Wireless Photo All-In-One Printer ($199.99) adds an assortment of features that you won't find in Canon's less-expensive models. Its most notable advantage is better-looking output, particularly for photos. But speed is not a strong point, and its paper capacity is on the light side.

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The quality of the photo output for the MG7520 is in the top tier for inkjet MFPs in general. It's also a match for the Canon Pixma MX922 Wireless Office All-In-One Printer—our Editors' Choice home or dual-purpose home and home-office MFP, with an emphasis on home use.

Limiting the MG7520's appeal somewhat is the fact that it doesn't provide all the features that help make the Canon MX922 our Editors' Choice. It leaves out faxing and an automatic document feeder (ADF), for example, offering only a letter-size flatbed for scanning. However, it adds some features that the Canon MX922 lacks, including Canon's Wi-Fi Access Point mode and NFC support. The Access Point mode lets you connect directly to the printer by Wi-Fi even if it's not on a network.

BasicsMFP features are limited to printing from and scanning to a PC, plus copying. It can print from, but not scan to, a memory card. It doesn't offer a USB Type A connector, which means it can't print from a USB memory key or connect to a PictBridge camera by USB cable. As with the Canon Pixma MG6620 Wireless Photo All-In-One Printer , it supports Wireless PictBridge, which will let you print from any Canon camera that supports Wi-Fi and PictBridge. However, Canon says that it's the only manufacturer that currently offers Wireless PictBridge in its cameras.

Paper handling is on the meager side, but good enough for light-duty use in a home or home office, with a 125-sheet capacity for the main tray and a built-in duplexer (for two-sided printing). It also helps that you don't have to swap out the paper to switch between document printing and photos, as you do with the Canon MG6620, which is the company's next step down for photo inkjet MFPs. The MG7520's dedicated photo tray can hold 20 sheets of 4-by-6-inch photo paper or 10 sheets of 5-by-7-inch paper. Another nice feature is that it can print on optical discs.

Mobile printing is a strong point. Connect the MG7520 to your network, by either Ethernet or Wi-Fi, and you can both print from and scan to iOS, Android, and Windows phones and tablets through an access point on the network. If you prefer to connect by USB cable to a single PC, you can still print and scan from a mobile device by using the MG7520's Access Point mode to connect directly to the printer. And if your phone or tablet supports NFC, you can establish a connection by touching it to a clearly marked spot on the printer. I ran into a minor problem getting NFC to work with a Samsung Galaxy S III at first and had to call Canon for help, but after I established the connection once, it worked without problems.

The MG7520 also supports printing through the cloud, although in my tests, it couldn't establish a connection to the Web. At this writing, Canon has managed to replicate the problem on one network, but not on another, and is still looking into the issue.

Speed and Output QualitySetting up the MG7520 on a network is mostly standard, with the minor difference from most printers being that you have to install six ink cartridges, with cyan, yellow, magenta, photo black, pigment black, and gray ink. The six-color ink system, and the gray ink in particular, makes it easier for a printer to handle photos well. It's also at least partly responsible for the printer's high level of photo quality.

For my tests, I connected the printer using its Ethernet port and installed the drivers and other software on a system running Windows Vista.

Speed is not a strong point. I clocked the MG7520 on our business applications suite (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing), at a sluggish 2.5 pages per minute (ppm). That makes it a touch faster than the Canon MX922, at 2.4ppm, and slower than the Canon MG6620, at 2.9ppm.

All three Canon printers offer a tolerable speed for light-duty printing, but they're also slower than much of the competition. The far less expensive Brother MFC-J285DW, for example, came in at 4.9ppm on the same tests. Speed for photos is a little better relative to inkjets in general. In my tests, the MG7520 averaged 1 minute, 4 seconds for a 4 by 6.

Output quality is above par overall, with top-tier photo quality and with text and graphics that are each at the top of the range that includes the vast majority of inkjet MFPs. Text quality is good enough for virtually any business use, as long as you don't have an unusual need for small fonts. Graphics quality is similarly good enough for almost any home or business use. Most people would consider it suitable for one-page handouts that need to convey a sense of professionalism. Photo quality is a cut above good-quality drugstore prints. For better quality, you'd need to look at much more expensive inkjets meant for professional photographers.

If you don't need an Ethernet connector, you might want to consider the Canon MG6620, which costs less than the Canon Pixma MG7520 Wireless Photo All-In-One Printer, also supports NFC, and delivers reasonably good photo quality, although it's not a match for the MG7520 on that score. Also be sure to take a look at the Editors' Choice Canon MX922, which closely matches the MG7520 for photo quality and adds an ADF, fax capability, and a higher paper capacity for the same list price. If you can do without these office-centric features, however, and particularly if you want an MFP that's strong on mobile printing and scanning, complete with NFC support, the MG7520 may well be the best fit.

About the Author

M. David Stone is an award-winning freelance writer and computer industry consultant. Although a confirmed generalist, with writing credits on subjects as varied as ape language experiments, politics, quantum physics, and an overview of a top company in the gaming industry. David is also an expert in imaging technologies (including printers, moni... See Full Bio

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